Still working hard to hit complete, thank you for sticking with me on these. Chater 42 will be the epilogue, so the end is coming. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters and plot ideas are the property of their respective owners, no copyright infringement is intended. The original plot and characters are my own.

Chapter 36

The rest of March passed quickly, and soon the day of the charity event was upon us. Alice and Jasper were going to Esme and Carlisle's that afternoon while Rosalie and I had a day of pampering. I thought it would be a nice day for us to bond before the formal event. It wasn't something either of us was used to, so we would be getting through this together.

We dressed comfortably and drove to Divinity Spa, where we got manicures, pedicures, and massages. Rosalie had a sweet smile on her face when we met back up after her massage, letting me know that this had been a good idea. From there we went home and showered, then headed back out to go to the salon to get our hair and makeup done.

Rosalie had her hair braided from the front and the braids were wound into a bun at the nape of her neck. I asked the makeup artist to make it subtle, but to tie in the purple from her dress when doing her eyes. As my half updo was completed, leaving my hair tumbling down my back in perfect curls, I looked over to see Rosalie's completed look. She looked stunning and as a surprise, I bought the makeup from the artist, with the exception of the eye shadow. It was a treat for her, and if she kept it natural like that, I didn't think Edward would mind her getting that for part of her birthday gift.

Rosalie watched as my makeup was applied, and when we were done I paid for our treatments and we went back home. The house was empty when we walked in, so I assumed Edward had driven the kids to Carlisle and Esme's house. Rosalie and I had both of our dresses in her loft, since we'd both need help getting ready.

I lent Rosalie a few pieces of costume jewelry that had been my mom's, since they matched her dress so well, and I put on my collection of jewelry from Edward and we headed downstairs to meet him.

When I hit the first floor and saw him standing there in his tux, I was speechless. Rose, on the other hand, had plenty to say.

"Wow, Dad, you clean up good," she teased.

"Well, I have to, considering the two beauties I'm escorting tonight."

"Charmer," I chuckled.

"Only for you," Edward whispered as he leaned in to kiss me.

"Ugh, can we at least leave the house before you make Bella reapply her lipstick," Rosalie groaned as I slipped her the lipstick I'd bought.

"You'll need that after dinner," I told her as she tucked it into her wristlet.

"The car is outside, are you ladies ready to go?" Edward asked and I smiled.

The three of us got into the limo and rode over to the Roosevelt Hotel, where the ballroom was decked out for the 10th Annual Katherine Sands Foundation Charity Ball. When we arrived, our coats were taken outside the ballroom and we entered to see many of the guests had already arrived.

"Edward, I'm so glad you're here. There are plenty of people who want to speak with you," Eleazar said as he embraced him.

"This is supposed to be a party, not work," Edward chastised.

"When the firm helps to sponsor the event, a little schmoozing must be done. They certainly didn't donate that much for the food," Eleazar laughed.

"May I introduce you to my fiancée, Bella, and my eldest daughter, Rosalie." Edward gestured to the pair of us.

"Of course, Bella, it is wonderful to meet you, though I've seen you from afar when you visit the office. And Rosalie, I promise, my three sons are here somewhere. My youngest, Emmett, will be your classmate next year."

"I look forward to meeting him, Sir," she said, blushing.

Moving on, we walked around the crowded room, where the cocktail hour was being held. While the servers were carrying around champagne, Edward went to get us both drinks from the bar. "I'll be right back."

Edward kissed both our cheeks and then wove through the people until he was out of sight.

"Well, isn't that precious? Is Edward having you train your replacement, Bella? Make sure to teach her how to lure a man into your bed, that way she knows how to find her own sugar daddy when she's done," Heidi purred. But the glassy look in her eyes told me she was at the very least, completely trashed.

"I'm his daughter, you bimbo," Rosalie seethed beside me.

"Why you little bitch." Heidi stormed towards her when an arm reached across the front of her shoulders to pull her back while another young man stepped between Rose and the Wicked Witch of Midtown.

"This is a charity event honoring our mother, you better get out of here before we tell my father how his employee was treating his guests." The young man stood tall. He was broad and imposing, but his boyish features led me to believe this was Emmett, and I couldn't be happier.

"Come on, let's go." His older brother tugged on Heidi's arm and led her out of the room.

Emmett turned to Rosalie with a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"

"I've been called worse," she joked and he led her off to where some of the younger crowd were congregated.

Edward arrived after the commotion with a confused look on his face. "Did Rosalie ditch us already?"

"After a little showdown with that troll from your office-"

"What?" he whispered harshly.

"Don't worry. Eleazar's sons were close and after Rosalie fired off her retort and Heidi geared up to make a scene, one of the older ones pulled Heidi out of the room and Emmett took Rose to mingle with the younger crowd."

"Was she okay?" he asked.

"I think she'll be fine. Heidi is vapid and shallow and the barb was aimed more at me than her."

"Edward, Bella," Eleazar said as he approached, "Larry just told me what happened and I want to assure you both that not only has Heidi been removed from the party but, after such a drunken display at tonight's event, she will no longer be an employee at my firm."

"Did she do something more than what she started here?" I asked.

"Plenty, but I do not wish to get into it. Is Rosalie okay?" he questioned.

"I'm sure she will be, your son protected her and then brought her over to where his siblings were before the whole thing started."

"Good, I would hate for tonight to be anything but enjoyable for you all." Eleazar nodded to us as he was called away by another guest.

"I hate that woman," Edward grumbled.

"You'll never have to see her again, so don't worry about it," I urged him and with that, he began to bring me around to meet some of his colleagues.

We moved around during the cocktail hour, but when it came time for dinner, everyone moved to the ballroom, the two of us looking for Rosalie as we did. Edward guided me to our table, while Emmett brought Rose to us.

"See, I've been to enough of these things to know how they set up the tables," Emmett told Rose as they approached. "Mr. Cullen, it is nice to meet you. And Ms. Swan, it is a pleasure to meet you as well."

"You can call me Bella, Emmett, and thank you for stepping in earlier," I offered.

"Well, after that woman hit on Patrick in front of his fiancée, and then eyed me and Larry, the only Sands man she hadn't hit on was my dad, and that's because Mama C would have killed her."

"Mi corazón, who am I killing now? You make me sound like Arya Stark with her list," a beautiful Hispanic woman said as she approached the table.

"That crazy, soon to be former Clearwater employee that was causing trouble earlier. And you're exactly like Arya, because if someone messes with you or your people, you will end them."

"Hush," she gently chastised him, "please excuse Emmett, he just binged watched all of Game of Thrones since he's finally old enough according to Eleazar."

"No problem, Carmen, after he stepped in to literally shield my daughter from Heidi, he gets a little leeway with me."

"Edward, I'm so glad I can finally meet you. And this must be your Bella. Eleazar speaks of you so much, I feel like I already know you. And we got your 'Save the Date' bookmark; the entire family is excited to celebrate you both."

"Well, we're just thrilled you're all planning to attend. It'll give Rose another chance to see Emmett before school in the fall," I said.

"I'm sure they'll be good friends by the time homecoming rolls around."

The first course was served and after the delicious meal was complete, the dancing began. Garrett was seated a few tables away, but as soon as the music started up, he came over and offered me his hand.

"Come off it, Garrett, she's mine," Edward teased as some of the other execs at our table laughed.

"I'm just making sure she has a reliable dance partner so you can take a turn with your daughter," Garrett shot back.

Ending the discussion, I took Garrett's proffered hand and looked to Edward. "Dance with Rose, I'll save the next one for you."

As the four of us got to the dance floor, Garrett pulled me to him and shot a wink at Edward. "I should warn you, I'm not good at this, and I've only been out of my cast for a few weeks."

"I'm sure Edward has told you by now that dancing is all in the leading," Garrett teased.

"Well, does your date mind that you're over here leading with me, instead of her?"

"I'm flying solo tonight," he admitted.

"Well, as long as you know you'll have a plus one at our wedding, that should give you enough time to find someone to ask."

"I'm going to be paired with one of your friends all day and night, it might be smarter to not try and split my time. Who am I with?"

"Angela's cousin, her name's-"

"Samantha," Garrett interrupts. "She and Angela have come by the office a few times. Nice young woman. She's going to Hunter, next year, if I remember correctly."

"Yes she is, with hopes of joining the nursing school there. She's about to turn 19, but she's an old soul. I think you'll enjoy being stuck with her."

"Well, at least one of us will be mature, because you know it won't be me," he joked back as we continued our dance.

As the song faded into the next, Edward cut in and we enjoyed a chance to dance, Edward whispering that this was practice for our wedding. We stayed like that for a few songs and then I looked up, wondering where Rosalie had gone. I was pleasantly surprised to see her dancing with Emmett, a sweet smile on her face.

The night wore on and soon, it was time for us to go. We made sure to thank Eleazar and his family for a wonderful evening and then Rose and I went to the restroom while Edward called for the car.

It took me a little longer than Rose to finish up, but when I found her in the seating area of the restroom, she had the same smile on her face as she had dancing with Emmett.

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah, the Sands' boys were sweet, and so was Patrick's fiancée. Emmett asked for my number," she whispered the last bit.

"Did you give it to him?" I asked.

"Yeah, he was really nice, and he made me laugh, so I thought, why not."

"I think it will be good. Maybe he can show you what it means to be with a respectable young man," I told her.

"Bella, let's not go there yet, okay?"

"Consider the subject dropped, now, we should meet your dad before he sends a search party in here for us."

Laughing, we met up with Edward and went home. That night, Edward and I made love slowly, happy to take our time with each other as we explored each other as we hadn't been able to in a while.

The next two weeks passed with plenty of wedding prep, and I'd even begun to feel the baby move. When I told Edward, he was excited, remembering it would still be a while before he and the kids could feel it as well. For now, he was content to caress my newly formed baby bump, and whisper to our child every night.

On one particular Thursday when the school was having a half day, I picked up Rose, wanting her and Alice to come with me to the salon we'd used for the charity event to book them for the wedding. The manager of the salon sat down and talked to me for a half hour before selecting two hair stylists and a makeup artist to do the wedding. I also booked a day for everyone to come and get their hair and makeup trial, that way we could make an afternoon of it. I emailed the info to Esme, Angela, and Samantha and then the three of us left to head home before Rosalie's appointment.

The walk through Bryant Park was nice, but when a figure blocked our path all the thoughts of our day were gone.

"What the fuck is this?" James spat from in front of me.

Rosalie bent down, pulling out her iPod, "Ally, why don't you listen to this, Sweetie."

I was grateful Rose thought to quickly keep Alice from hearing anything James was saying.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I suggest you get away from us, now," I countered, trying to seem strong.

"Oh hell no, I find you walking through the park with my kid and I'm supposed to just let it go?" he argued.

"What are you talking about?" I yelled back.

"I'm talking about her," he pointed to Alice.

"That's my sister, you idiot. She isn't Bella's kid," Rosalie tried to defend me, but I stopped her.

"Rose, go home, we'll meet you there soon," I urged her, and thankfully, she took off.

"I'm going to sue the shit out of you and take my child as far as I can from your pathetic ass," James spewed and I could see we were drawing attention.

"I don't have time for your bullshit, you're being ridiculous." I tried to get away from him but he grabbed my arm.

"You aren't going anywhere," James said just as I felt a presence behind me.

"Is there a problem here?" the officer asked, causing James to drop my arm.

"Yes, my ex is convinced that my step-daughter is his child, and threatened me."

"She's lying, that is obviously my daughter," James argued.

"Why doesn't everyone calm down and we'll see if we can get this sorted out," a second officer said, stepping between James and I while his partner stayed with me.

"There's nothing to sort out, she's my fiancés daughter, and James is delusional," I responded.

"Ma'am, if we could just-" the first officer tried to continue but Edward cut him off.

"What is going on here?"

"Sir, if you could just stand aside," the officer tried but Edward was quick to shake his head.

"No, I will not step aside. When this piece of trash is standing here cursing at my fiancée and children, accusing her of keeping my daughter from him, I'm going to get in the middle of this."

"Sir, do you have any proof of this?" the officer asked.

"Besides her birth certificate, which I have at home, here's a picture of my family in the hospital nearly four years ago." Edward pulled up the picture on his facebook account and showed it to the officer.

Shaking his head, the officer turned to James. "Sir, it seems you are mistaken, so we suggest you move along and leave these people alone."

Huffing, James stalked off in the opposite direction.

"Bella, are you okay?" Edward asked once James was on his way.

"Can you take me home?" I asked, needing to get inside and lock out the world and my piece of shit ex.

"Absolutely," he said.

Edward walked us all the way home, and then drove Rose to her therapy appointment. Jasper came home with the girls and I made sure they locked the door behind them. If they suspected anything was wrong, they didn't say it.

Instead, Lottie came over and sat next to me. "So, Aunt Bella, I think I've decided on what to paint on the wall."

"We don't even know if we're having a boy or a girl yet, how did you decide?"

"What I thought of will work for both, and I know you'll like it. Look." She held out her notebook to me.

Flipping through, I saw several sketches of the characters from Winnie the Pooh. They looked like a cross between the original stuffed animals and the cartoon, and I absolutely loved it.

"It's perfect," I told her.

"Good, I can start on it next weekend, that way I have plenty of time before you guys get your furniture. Mom already got me some of the paints."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea."

After the terrible day I'd had, Lottie had given me exactly what I needed to calm down and forget James forever.